All aboard rescued after Marine chopper crash

Published: Monday, September 1, 2014 at 06:02 PM.

WASHINGTON | A Camp Lejeune-based Marine Corps helicopter with 25 aboard crashed Monday in the Gulf of Aden, and all aboard were rescued, the Navy said.

The 17 Marines and eight Navy sailors were recovered and were with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit on board the USS Mesa Verde. Some who sustained minor injuries were treated on the ship.

The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crashed as it attempted to land on the ship, which has a big landing deck on the back. The Navy said the crash was not the result of hostile activity, but the aircraft was transferring troops back to the ship from training in nearby Djibouti.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the USS Mesa Verde, an amphibious transport dock ship based at Norfolk, Virginia, into the Persian Gulf earlier this summer as concern grew over the Islamic State terrorist group's advance on Iraq's capital, Baghdad.

The ship transports and lands Marines and other troops, their equipment and supplies, aided byhelicopters and vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

USS Mesa Verde is part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group currently on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility where it is conducting maritime security operations.

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WASHINGTON | A Camp Lejeune-based Marine Corps helicopter with 25 aboard crashed Monday in the Gulf of Aden, and all aboard were rescued, the Navy said.

The 17 Marines and eight Navy sailors were recovered and were with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit on board the USS Mesa Verde. Some who sustained minor injuries were treated on the ship.

The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crashed as it attempted to land on the ship, which has a big landing deck on the back. The Navy said the crash was not the result of hostile activity, but the aircraft was transferring troops back to the ship from training in nearby Djibouti.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the USS Mesa Verde, an amphibious transport dock ship based at Norfolk, Virginia, into the Persian Gulf earlier this summer as concern grew over the Islamic State terrorist group's advance on Iraq's capital, Baghdad.

The ship transports and lands Marines and other troops, their equipment and supplies, aided byhelicopters and vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

USS Mesa Verde is part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group currently on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility where it is conducting maritime security operations.